Boro: Japanese Folk Fabric

After buying a boro scarf at a Tokyo flea market I wanted to learn more about the scruffy, stylish fabric. This lead to the unravelling of an interesting tale going back hundreds of years.

Boro was born of forgotten values of ‘mottainai’ or ‘too good to waste’. An idea dangerously lacking in the modern consumer lifestyle.

The charm of boro is not only the indigo shades and shabby street chic, or even its eco-friendliness. Sewn together over generations, family sagas are woven through the threads. click below to read on…

Boro is the clothing that was worn by peasants, merchants or artisans in Japan from Edo up to early Showa (17th – early 19th century). In feudal times, the majority were peasant farmers. Not everyone could afford the lavish silk kimono and vivid obi worn by the aristocracy. Clothes were crafted from cheaper materials, but were no less beautiful than those worn by the upper classes.

Antique Noragi Hanten

Literally translated as rags or scraps of cloth, the term boro is also used to describe clothes and household items which have been patched-up and repaired many times.

Once clothing was made, it would be maintained throughout the owner’s lifetime, or perhaps even longer.

Cotton was scarce in Japan, but hemp was abundant. Hemp would be homespun and woven into beautifl patterns. Cotton could be woven through the hemp fabrics to make it warmer.

Hishizashi Monpe Pants

The beauty of boro fabric is the highly sophisticated sewing and weaving techniques used by the women who made it. For peasant families, each garment would last long enough to be passed down through generations. Daily use would require frequent repair.

The pattern stitched into the fabric of these trousers is known as hishizashi. Women would invent their own designs and compete with friends.

Household boro textiles give an intriguing insight into the lifestyle of the times. The whole family would lay on one futon.

Made up of scraps of old clothes over generations, the timeline of the family could be traced along its seams.

I am fascinated by the donja (below). It is a very large, and extremely heavy sleeping coat. Today, we might think this inappropriate, but parents and children would sleep naked together inside it. Wrapped in layer upon layer of boro scraps and wadding, shared body heat would protect them from the dangerously cold winter.

Donja

The bodoko (below) is translated as ‘life-cloth’. On a daily basis, it was a bed sheet. However, it was also used when giving birth. Women would hang from ropes fastened to the ceiling and kneel on the bodoko. Layers of rags worn by ancestors would be the first thing the baby would touch.

Bodoko

Boro is a practical, utilitarian and cheap fabric. Each boro item is by its very definition, absolutely unique.

Now, it is valued as art and has become highly collectible.

Boro uses everything and wastes nothing. The ‘beauty of practicality’ or ‘Yuyo-no-bi’ is a concept all but forgotten in today’s consumer society.

Should things be made merely to look at? To admire Boro is to appreciate practicality as an aesthetic aspect. Boro shows us the value of time spent, not money.

Unfortunately, it also highlights the wastefulness of modern lifestyles. It sounds harsh but; boro also points out the comparative uselessness of some other forms of art we admire.

Boro makes me think about the richness of family history and ways it might be documented. A photo album speaks for itself, but a quilt of generations is a source of family legends; an endless bedtime story.

Boro reminds me to appreciate the value of spare time, something we often waste away along with our old clothes.

Next time you have free time and you are wondering how to spend it, don’t pick up your new smart phone or turn on the TV.

Pick up something old and unused and see if you can make something useful. You never know, it may turn into something beautiful, perhaps even a family heirloom.

78 responses to “Boro: Japanese Folk Fabric”

I really enjoyed this post. I so want one of those Boro scarves. They remind me of vintage Indian Kantha scarves that are made from saris passed down from the women who wore them. Love the Indigo, my favorite color. Really beautiful!

I focus mainly on Japanese antique indigo in my shop FurugiStar. Although, I am interested in Indian dye techniques, too. I have found great videos online about indigo dyeing in India and I am planning to blog about it soon.

I am afraid I have sold the original scarf I wrote about. I have other antique indigo items – take a look if you are interested.http://www.etsy.com/shop/FurugiStar
I will soon be listing boro kasuri koshi maki (ikat cotton kimono underskirts), great to wear in summer!

[…] it across even the wealthiest of homes. In contrast, Japan’s own patchwork-like needlecraft, known as boro, began as peasant clothing, worn by the lowest class of 17th-century Japan. Similar to the […]

A beautifully well written piece, Thank you I didn’t know one bit about this history until I read this and I loved it and your take on something we can learn from history was well put, not patronising or preachy…………you should do this writing lark for a living!! cheers Susan..xx

Thank you so much for your kind words, Susan! They are very much appreciated. My blog posts are few and far between, but your comment has motivated me and I will be publishing another post soon 🙂 I hope you enjoy it! All the best, xx

Hello – thanks for the comment at my blog – and I am glad you left the link there! I think I came across your blog when I was googling about boro – but bleary-eyed, so I’m happy to now come back in a more relaxed manner. I am also going to go look at your etsy shop. It must have been wonderful to see the Tanaka collection in person. 🙂

Looks like you have been busy. Love the indigo blues in your photos. Thank you for the link to my blog 🙂

I love boro and I am always on the look out for it in Japan. Anything I find I list in my shop along with other Japanese textiles and antiques. I hope you don’t mind if I pass on the shop link:http://www.etsy.com/shop/FurugiStar

[…] to linen, though is often made from hemp. They were dyed this great indigo and patched together (read an excellent article describing the history of Boro HERE). A beachy stripe covers the back side of the […]

Thank you so much for the link – very much appreciated. Sorry for the delay in my response, I am away at the moment. Reopening my shop in the next few days and will be back on the search for more boro. Hope I can find some you like 🙂
Thanks again and all the best in your future creative endeavors!

[…] Boro is the Japanese art of mending, “literally translated as rags or scraps of cloth, the term boro is also used to describe clothes and household items which have been patched-up and repaired many times.” -Furujistar […]

[…] aching for all his DIY and upcycled projects, like his indigo patchwork sofa. It reminds me of Japanese Boro textiles from the 19th century. It’s absolutely beautiful. I love that everything in his home feels […]

[…] little scrap. That, and the fact that I hate to send the remnants to landfill. This is where boro is so appealing. Boro is patching, reusing, and recreating fabric. Old fabrics come together to […]

Thank you for your post, it was fascinating. I think the idea of respecting something because it has already proven it’s use, and not disregarding it because it isn’t brand new is a concept well worth aspiring to.

[…] and culminating in the death of my father. Now, we who are left behind are like a tattered and torn boro fabric, mended and patched over and over again, kept together by the small stitches of leftover […]

Lovely article. Never knew about this aspect of clothing. I’m a quilter and have been drawn to scrappy quilts. Using only cotton pcs tho. I do have a box of a friend’s daughter’s clothing. She died at 15 and I will be making some quilted pieces for her family. That feels boro-ish to me.

Reblogged this on eARThand gleaners society and commented:
And best case scenario, things come full circle as we relearn the value of cloth, of tradition, and our ancestors- an inspiring story worthy of re-posting as our week of planting flax approaches

[…] and wear them, and it makes me feel really good to apply a little boro to them — following an ancient Japanese tradition of making do and mending. I understand my relationship to those jeans, and I realize it’s become much like my […]

Hello! Thank you for this post! Boro is beautiful in all ways; practically and aesthetically and I loved the tracing of history and family throughout time. It is very inspiring to me and thank you again for sharing this information.

[…] Using a combination of denim, cotton and leather, Xiaowei’s inspiration behind her collection is Boro, which is a kind of indigo patchwork seen in Japanese culture. Her collection is comprised entirely […]

[…] Vintage zoukin are very collectible. Often, they are made with high quality fabric such as aizome (indigo cotton) and kasuri (ikat). High quality fabrics such as these were never thrown away. To learn more about the tradition of mottainai (no waste) read my post on boro. […]

[…] form Kimonos, futon covers and other articles of clothing.As the country became industrialized, the Boro became a symbol of poverty and hard times and so a sense of shame became associated with […]

[…] Back when we were staging or house, I took a bunch of rugs in to get cleaned and repaired. There were two pieces that were, unfortunately too expensive to fix. This Navajo rug is one of them. So I’ve decided that while I can’t afford to have it restored, I can at least patch it up so that it is useful again. I’ve been inspired by two things: An acquaintance who darns his clothes until they become a rich tapestry of patches and Japanese Boro fabrics. […]

[…] about Boro fabrics from Japan, that follows the “ancient Japanese tradition of making do and mending.” It is interesting to note how much history can be woven into these mendings. It is akin to my […]

Thanks for the interesting article. I’m curious, though, as to where you heard about “donja” and families sleeping together naked while wrapped up in the “donja”? Firstly, I’ve never heard the term “donja”, but only ever heard the sleeping kimono referred to as a “yogi” (literally “sleeping clothes”) and secondly, no-one in Japan (including my in-laws) have ever heard about families sleeping naked together in a yogi. Although communal sleeping is common in Japan, it’s usual for people to have separate futon – even babies will typically sleep next to the mother on their own, little futon, so as to ensure that they don’t get squashed but are within easy reach if they need comforting.

Hello James,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I have also found that few people have heard of the donja. I got this information directly from the museum that inspired me to write this blog post and open my shop.

I visited the Amuse Museum Boro Exbibition, Tokyo, 2011. The exhibition featured the collection of Chuzaburo Tanaka who is famous for his collection of Boro textiles. There were items there named donja with the description as I described here. They were used many, many years ago and are not well known these days.

I wrote that this exhibition has now closed, but I heard it may still be open. If you are located in Tokyo it might be worth looking it up. It was an amazing exhibition. 🙂

[…] of all of those things. That’s why the Japanese arts of Boro and Kintsugi are so appealing. Boro, a Japanese word meaning “tattered rags,” describes lovingly patched and repaired cotton bedding […]

[…] Water Tribe how to bend fire with Kapital’s awesome hooded coats. Just like the traditional boro, the Savannah coats are made from patches of mostly indigo fabric, ensuring that no two pieces are […]

[…] Boro in the Japanese language means “rags” or “fabric remnants”, and Boro as an artform means the repurposing or recycling of old fabric, mending, sewing and quilting, thereby transforming something about to be thrown out into something of beauty with a new purpose. Beautiful AND Useful. Recycling at its best. […]

[…] artist creating unusual high-relief works that look like biological specimens fabricated using Japanese Boro techniques. Her artist statement indicates that she’s always made use of whatever materials […]

[…] grows in beauty as it ages. This quality of the textile has inspired the Japanese mending tradition boro, which uses decorative embroidery techniques to make wear and tear a feature of the garment as it […]

I am pleased you have added a link to my blog. Please could you correct the spelling of my shop name? The correct spelling is FurugiStar. If you wouldn’t mind, it would be amazing if you could add a link to my shop to the word FurugiStar. Link is as follows:

[…] Boro (Japanese for tattered rags) and Sashiko (little stabs) are decorative Japanese repairing stitches that are not meant to be hidden but to enhance the fault. Traditionally white cotton thread is used on indigo blue cloth which is said to recall snow falling around old farmhouses. Sometimes red thread is used for decorative purposes. […]